Apparatus for making pile fabrics



APPARATUS FOR MAKING PILE FABRICS Original Filed Dec. 4, 1957 5 Sheets-Sheet 1 INV TOR. a.

ATTORNEY) 3 Sheets-Sheet 2 W. A. RICE 7 a 6 2 Il 2 July 12, 1960 APPARATUS FOR mm; FILE FABRICS Original Filed Dec. 4, 1957 FIG. 2

July 12, 1960 w. A. RICE APPARATUS FOR WING FILE FABRICS ()x iginal Filed Dec. 4, 1957 3 Sheets-Sheet 3 2,944,413 p APPARATUS FoR MAKING PILE FABRICS; Walter A. Rice, Amsterdam, N.Y., assignor to Mohasco Industries, Inc., Amsterdam, N.Y., a corporation of New York' This :inventihn relates to the prodnction "or pilcgfabrics and is concerned more particularly-witha novehknitting a ma h n y Whi'cheknitted P e f ric having r l through ,,St1tCh6S: 1n the next lower course in thechains of. yarn loops -varying in 'heightin accordance with a pattern can be produced without r educing the speedof' operation of the machine. h I j vyThe. newmachine is of;the Raschel type but 'differs from conventional Raschel machines in that it includes means for positively drawing pile yarns from individual supplies thereof and feedingthe yarns in increments varying in. length in accordance with a pattern toward the guides by which the yarns are laid'in the fabric. Between the feeding means and the pile yarn guides, the yarns are acted on by means functioning in each machine cycle to releasei stored supplies of the yarns and tore-establish such supplies. In the'operation of. the machine, a length of each pile yarn. is lapped about a point in each cycle to form a loop and-the yarn in the stored supplythereof plus theincrement of the yarn fed during the cycle are available forthe purpose. At the end of each cycle, the re-establishment of the stored supply of a yarn,of which the increment fed in the cycle was insufficient for lapping about a point, causes yarn to be withdrawn from the loop formed in thecycle so that the-loop is shortened. The fabric produced on the machine thus contains pile loops varying in height according to the pattern. p x r v For a better understanding of the invention, reference may be made to the accompanying drawings, in which Fig. 1 is an exploded plan view of one form of fabric knitted by the machine of, the invention;

Fig. 2 is a vertical. sectional view of the essential features of the machine; 7

Fig. 3 is a view in elevationv of apattern element employed in the machineyand 1 9 Fig. 4 is a view similar to Fig. 2 but showing the machine at a different stage in the knitting cycle.

The fabric shown in Fig. 1 comprises a plurality of warp chains 10, 10a, 10b, 100 each made up of a series of chain stitches 11. The warp chain yarns are ordinarily made of cotton and the chains lie'close together with the stitches of the chains aligned in courses running transversely of the fabric.

The warp chains are connected and heldin proper spaced relation by back weft threads 12, which are preferably stifi and made of jute or paper. -Each back weft thread is of regular sinuous form and it is laid in the stitches in the same course of a plurality of adjacent chains. In the construction shown, each lateral stretch 12a of a back weft thread passes through stitches in four chains and reverses direction and passes through stitches in the next coursein four chains, after which the thread again reverses direction. At each-point; of reversal of azback weft thread, it tightly; engagesandis bound insuccessive stitches in a -single chain: ,The

laterally extending stretches ofadjacentweft; threads overlap, sothat. each warp chain is connected; in each,

course to the adjacent warp chains ion either side. thereof by three back weft threads and four back weft threads pass through each chain stitch. If desiredyeach' stretch of each back weftthr'ead may cross more or less .than three warp chains and .the strength and stability of the fabric vary directly with thenumber of =warp chains crossed. Preferably, eachv back weft thread crosses at least three warp chains as shown. a

The pile of the fabric is provided by heavy multieply yarns 13, 14, 15, 16, which are made of wool or of any of the fibers ordinarily used-inthe pile yarns of'floor covering fabrics. Each pile yarn is laid back and forth in the stitches of a plurality of adjacent chains 'and, in the fabric shown, each pile yarn is of regular sinuous form and crosses and connects there adjacent chains. Thus, as shownv-near-the top of Fig. l, a stretch, 'of the pile "weft yarn '13. extends from right to, leftthrough stitches in thejchains 10b, 10a, 10, reverses direction and passes 10, 10a,-10b,-- and then reverses direction again. vAt each pointof reversal of a pile .ya'rn the yarn tightly. engages and is-abound ,insuccessive stitches in;a single chain; The pile yarns are laid in such manner that the lateral stretches of adjacent yarns overlap and stretches of at least three difierent pile yarns are laid in each warp chain stitch. a In each lateral stretch of veach pile yarn in the fabric illustrated, a Tportion'of theyarnis raised out of the fabric to form a pile loop lying between two of the three :chainscrossed by the yarn and, in the next lateral stretch of the yarn, a portion of the yarn is raised to form a loop lying betweenth'eother two chains of the three crossed by the yarn. Thus, the yarn 13 is raised between the stitches in chains .10, ,10a. to form a loop '17 andthe portion of the same stretch of the yarn,-which connects stitches of chains 19d, 10b, lies buried in the fabric; In the next lower lateral stretch of the yarn 13, the portion lying between the stitches in thechains 10, 10d, lies buried. in thefabric,' while the portion between the stitches in the chains '10a',.10b is raised toiforni the loop 17a. .The otherpile yarns form loops jintthe; same manner with the result;that,..in anylongitudinalrow of loops, adjacent loops are made of different yarns. Thus, the loop 17a; of yarn '13 lies in a longitudinal row between adjacent loops 18a formed of the yarn 14 and each loop '18a-lie s between adjacent loops. 17a' of. yarn 13. With succesive pile. loops in each longitudinal row thus made of difierent yarns, the possibility ofstreaks being formed in the pile "as a result of differences :in color or appearance between individual yarns is avoided.

In the fabric, the height of the loop varies in accordance with a pattern and, in the section of the fabric shown in Fig. 1, all of the loops in the outer longitudinal rows are high loops, whileall the loops '-17a, 18a forming the middle row are low loops. In the production of the fabric, the height of each loop is controlled so that elaborate and intricate pattern effects may be obtained in the pile.

The machine of the invention is of the Raschel type and it includes a row of needles 19 mounted in leads 20 .attached to a bar 21 which is mounted on levers 22 oscillated by a cam-actuated link 23 to reciprocate the needles in a substantially vertical plane. Theindividual needles lie in slots'in a trick plate 24 and, in the operation of the machine,;the-needles are projected above the top of the plate and later retracted to the positions shown in Fig.2.. A second trick plate 25 lies spaced,

' 25(Q'1he bar 28;is;secu1 ed.to,alever29 -whichismounted on a. shaft 30 oscillated by suitablenne'ans. f The points 26 lie at the same spacing as the needles and areali'gned I with theneedlesh A rock sh'aft31 mounted above the trick plates carries a or arms 32 connected by rods 33, on which are mounted bars carrying the guides for the threads. The bar 34 carries guides 35 for the back weft yarns BW, the guides being mounted in leads attached to the bar 34. The guide bar 36 carries a row of guides 37 for the pile yarns P, while the bar 38 carries guides 39 for the yarns C for the chain stitches. Each bar carries as many guides as there are needles and the guides on each bar are spaced a distance equal to the spacing between adjacent needles and points. The pile yarns P are drawn fiiom individual sources of supply in the form of packages in a creel and the yarns pass beneath a guide rod 40 to the feeding means, in which the yarns pass between a series of bars 41 mounted on parallel chains 42 and a second series of bars 43 mounted'on parallel chains 44. The chains 42 are trained above a plurality of sprocket wheels 45 and one of the sprocket wheels marked 45a is mounted on a shaft 46 carrying a sprocket wheel 47 driven by a chain 48 from a suitable moving part of the'knitting'machine. The chains 44 are similarly trained about sprocket wheels 49'and one of the sprocket wheels marked 49;: is mounted on a shaft 50 driven in unison with shaft 46 by appropriate means. The chains 42' and 44 have parallel stretches, in which the bars 41 intermesh with the bars 43, and the yarns P pass between the outer ends of the bars in these stretches and are gripped and positively drawn from the supplies and fed toward the pile yarn guides by the bars.

' The bars 43 are of uniform height from end to end while the bars 41 have sections indicated at a, b; c, d, e, etc., the sections varying in height in accordance with a pattern and each section having a width, so that it will engage a single yarn. In passing between the intermeshing bars 41, 43, each yarn is deviated from a straight line across the ends of bars 43 by its engagement with the outer edges of the bars 41 and the amount of such deviation between each two bars 43 depends on the height of the pattern section on the bar 41 engaged by the yarn between the two bars 43. The chains 42, 44 are driven in unison during the operation of the machine at such a rate that each chain advances by one bar during each knitting cycle. As a consequence, an increment of yarn is released from between successive bars 43 at the lower end of the parallel stretches of the chains42, 44 during each cycle and the length of the increment is the length of the deviated yarn lying between the pair of bars 43. The length of such an incrementof" each yarn varies with the pattern section on the bar 41, which produces deviation of the increment, and the amounts of the yarns fed in successive cycles thus vary in accordance with the pattern as determined by the shape of the bars 41.

The yarns fed in increments by the bars 41, 43 pass beneath a guide rod 51 carried by brackets 52 attached to a longitudinal member 53 of the knitting machine structure. is mounted a lever 55, and the levers are connected by a rod 56, which is square in cross-section and lies at one side of the pivot, and a rod 57, which is round in crosssection and lies at the other side of the pivot. The levers 55 are rockable by links 58, which are adjustable in length and connect the levers 55 to one end of levers 59 fast on a shaft 60 mounted for oscillation on the machine framework. Shaft 60 carries an arm 61 having a roller 62 engaging the edge of a cam 63 mounted on a shaft 64 and a spring 65' connected to a bracket 52 and to a lever 59 m'aintains roller 62 against the edge of cam 63. When the roller 62 is on the low part ofcam 63, the levers 55 are held at such an angle that the yarns fed by bars 41', 43 may pass in a straight line from beheath guiderod 51 to and over guide rod 57-. When the high spot of-cam 63 causes shaft 60 to rock counterclockwise, the levers 55 are rocked clockwise; with the result that therod 56 engages the yarns from above and deviates them out of the direct path from between the g ide. rods 51, 5.7. The increase. in lengthin each yarn Each bracket 52 carries a pivot 54, on which 4' I between guide rods 51, 57 resulting from deviation of the yarn by the rod 56' constitutes a reservoir or stored supply of the yarn for use in the knitting operation.

In each cycle of operation of the machine, the first step is the vertical movement of the point bar 28 to the position shown in Fig. '2. 'Thejshaft 31 is then swung to cause the guides 37 for the pile yarns to move to a position in front of the plane of the points, after which the guides are moved laterally or shogged to cause the pile yarns to'be lapped about respective points. During the occurrence of these operations, the levers 55 have been moved to the inclined position shown in Fig. 2, so that the guide rod 56 is out of contact with the yarns between the guide rod 51, 57, and the chains 42 and 44 are advancing. The fixed uniform lengths of pile yarn previously deviated by rod 56 between rods 51, 57 are thus made available for lapping about the points and may be just sufiicient for this purpose. The usual.

knitting" steps are then carried out, during which the guides all swing to the rear of'the points, the back weft yarn guides are shogged, the guides all-swing forward of the points, and the needles are raised. Thereafter, the guides all swing to the rear of the needles, the chain yarn guides are shogged to lap the warp chain yarns about respective needles, and the guides all swing'forward. At this stage, the pile yarns are lapped about respective points and are laid across a plurality of chains, the back weft yarns are each laid across a plurality of chains, and each chain yarn is lapped about a needle. The needles then descend to draw new loops through the old ones at the edge of the fabric and, when this action has been completed, each pile yarn and each back weft yarn are bound in stitches in a plurality of chains. Thereafter, the points descend to free the loops of pilc yarn. The final step in the cycle is the restoration of the reservoir or stored supplies of the pile yarns and, for this purpose, the levers 55 are swung clockwise so that the guide rod 56 engages the yarns from above and deviates them downward between the guide rods 51, 57.

During the knitting cycle, the chains 41, 44 have advanced by one bar each to release an increment of each pile yarn from between the parallel stretches of the chains. If this increment is equal to the fixed uniform length of such yarn in the reservoir and is thus sufficient to permit the formation of a pile yarn loop of maximum height therefrom, the final downward deviation of the yarns by the action of rod 56 will just take up the increment. However, if the increment of any yarn is less than the fixed uniform length and is insufficient for formation of a loop of maximum height therefrom, the deviating action of bar 56 will cause a fixed uniform length of the yarn to be placed in the reservoir and the difference between the increment fed and the length of yarn required for the formation of a loop of maximum height will be drawn from the loop of that yarn just formed. Accordingly, in the operation of the machine, a pile loop of maximum height is initially formed in each knitting cycle with the yarn required for such loop made available by release of the fixed uniform length of the yarn in the reservoir. At the end of each knitting cycle, a fixed uniform length of each yarn is restored to the reservoir and such action may reduce the height of a pile loop formed in the cycle. The height of the loops of pilethroughout the fabric thus depends on the length of successive increments of the pile yarn fed and is determined by the formation of the bars 41 on the pattern chains 42.

In the fabric illustrated, the pile yarns are laid in stitches in the same course in three adjacent chains with the yarn raised between two of the chains to form a loop and lying buried between the other two chains. With this arrangement; the loops in any longitudinal row throughout the fabric are formed alternately oftwo different yarns with attendant advantages in avoidance of formation ofstreaks. However, it is not necessary that a portion. of each pile yarn be: buried, in each course and, if preferred, the fabric may be constructed with the pile yarns laid in stitches in two adjacent chains only in each course.

This application is a division of my co-pending application Serial No. 765,833, filed October 7, 1958, which is a division of application Serial No. 700,655, filed December 4, 1957, now abandoned.

I claim: 4

1. The combination with a knitting machine having bars carrying a row of points and a row of needles, respectively, the points and needles lying substantially parallel, means for advancing and retracting the point bar once per cycle of operation of the machine, means operating in each cycle to advance the needle bar later and retract it earlier than the point bar, and guides for pile weft yarns, back weft yarns, and warp yarns, respectively, the pile weft yarn guides operating after each advance of the point bar to lap pile weft yarns about -selected points, the back weft yarn guides operating after each operation of thepile weft yarn guides to lay back weft yarns lengthwise of and between the rows of points and needles and past a plurality of needles with the back weft yarns laid in opposite directions in successive cycles,

and the warp yarns guides operating after each advance of the needle bar to lap the warp yarns about respective needles, of means for drawing pile weft yarns from supplies and feeding them toward their guides in increments varying in length in accordance with a pattern, the drawing and feeding means operating to feed an increment of each yarn in each cycle, means engagingthe pile weft yarns between the pile weft yarn guides and thedrawing and feeding means, and means for operating said pile weft yarns engaging means, said last-mentioned means being synchronized with the means for actuating the needles, the point bar and the yarn guides so that it is operated at the end of each cycle after retraction of the point bar to store supplies of the pile weft yarns of fixed uniform length and is operated in the following cycle to release the stored supplies of the pile weft yarns before operation of the pile weft yarn guides to lap the pile weft yarns about the advanced points.

2. The combination of claim 1, in which the means for storing supplies of the pile weft yarns and releasing the supplies is operated by a cam.

3. The combination of claim 1, in which the means i and feeding means feed the pile weft yarns in a sheet,

the members extend across the sheet on opposite sides thereof and are mounted on levers, and, during the storing operation, means rock the levers to cause the memy bers to engage the yarns and bend them in opposite directions. References Cited in the file of this patent V V UNITED STATES PATENTS 3 Rice Nov. 28, 1950 2,718,132 Hennstadt Sept. 20, 1955 2,842,079 Rice July 8, 1958 2,842,259 Hoeselbarth July 8, 1958 

